Chris Hughton, English-born Irish footballer and manager
Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a former professional footballer and now football manager who was most recently in charge of Nottingham Forest. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team.
After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spent most of his playing career with Tottenham Hotspur as a left back, leaving in 1990 after 13 years. After relatively brief spells with West Ham United and Brentford, Hughton retired from playing in 1993 at age 34. He earned 53 caps representing the Republic of Ireland, scoring one goal and starting in all three of Ireland's games at UEFA Euro 1988 in West Germany.
From 1993 to 2007, Hughton served as coach and then assistant manager for Tottenham. He joined Newcastle United as first team coach in 2008, and, following their relegation, became caretaker manager. He led Newcastle back to the Premier League in his first season in charge, along the way breaking a number of records and securing the permanent managerial position. He was dismissed as manager by Mike Ashley the following December, with his side 12th in the table. Hughton managed Birmingham City for a single season, leading them to fourth place in the league, before joining Norwich City in June 2012. Norwich dismissed Hughton in April 2014 following a run of poor results.
Following his departure from Norwich, Hughton became manager of Brighton & Hove Albion in December 2014. Three years later in 2017, Hughton led the club to promotion to the Premier League for the first time in its history. He successfully avoided relegation for two successive seasons before being dismissed in May 2019 due to a run of poor form. He was appointed as manager of Nottingham Forest in October 2020, before being dismissed in September 2021 after a poor start to the season.